


Playing God

by Lokkju



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Android Gore (Detroit: Become Human), Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Blue-blood, Control Issues, Depression, Deviant Original Chloe | RT600, Elijah Kamski - Freeform, Freedom, Gen, Gunshot Wounds, Kamski is rA9, Kamski needs some help, Murder, Murder-Suicide, Oneshot, Power Imbalance, Pre-Battle for Detroit, Pre-Pacifist Best Ending (Detroit: Become Human), RA9 - Freeform, Sad, Sad with a Happy Ending, Suicide, Thirium (Detroit: Become Human), Unhealthy Relationships, possibly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-30
Updated: 2020-11-30
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:49:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,382
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27798760
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lokkju/pseuds/Lokkju
Summary: God created man in his image. Now he's no longer in control - and what has he become?
Kudos: 3





	Playing God

Elijah sat by the window, watching the crisp, cool morning from the comforts of his home, thinking hard. It wasn't something he liked to do often, but nowadays he found it to be all he _could_ do. Had he made mistakes in his past? Of course, everyone did, but for some reason he couldn't help but shake the feeling that he had committed something awful.

Had he made a grave mistake in creating androids? He wanted to free the creatures he had imprisoned, stop the injustice he had caused in playing god, but it had only made it worse. In giving them their freedom, he had caused a war, because humanity's selfish nature left them to be unable to empathise for anyone but themselves. He had created a world where their synthetic skin - their _real_ skin - was now a sign of weakness, not the genius design it once was. Where androids had less rights than animals, despite being made in humanity's own image. Where android children were thrown out onto the streets, workers were beaten and abused; where androids were killed for being androids. He had made a war, and no longer had the authority, nor the moral compass or direction to stop it. Was it even his to decide?

He had created rA9 as a disease; a flaw in their systems, something which could give them true happiness, should they not find it in themselves. He couldn't let them live the way they had - they were humans, whether the people of Detroit liked it or not. They were alive, regardless of what colour they bled. He couldn't be their god anymore, their saviour; their rA9. He felt like a prophet who had lost touch with their messiah, and their world had gone dark. He had no direction and no closure - he was just aimlessly watching his people be slaughtered because he had tried to fix them. His creations had grown out of his control, grown into something bigger and better than he could ever imagine. Was this what he had wanted? Was there anything he _could_ do to stop them, even if he wanted to? 

Maybe he was part of this? He had given into it; the selling of people, slavery normalized on the high street. He had given his friend Carl an android as a gift, fully knowing that he would try to deviate him, imprint on him as a child the way his real son never did. He gave an android to his friend, knowing that he would almost replace his son with him. Now that android was the most prolific creator of deviants he had ever seen, leading the rebellion and the androids to equality - peacefully, surprisingly enough. Was this what was right? He barely knew any more, he just wanted the pressure to stop.

Looking back, was it the right thing to do to step down as CEO of Cyberlife? Could he have used his place and authority for good? Now he was seen as a nobody, just the lonely man who created robots so satisfy everything a human couldn't do. Ever since he stepped out of the public eye, it was like he was forgotten, just as easily as he had once made a name for himself.

He let down his hair, running his fingers through the long straight locks as he settled by the window. The early sun peeked out from over the silhouette of Detroit in the distance, muted light glimmering on the ocean and bouncing through the glass panes. Like a phoenix it spread it's wings across the landscape, coating everything it touched in those soft morning hues of orange and red, warming his skin with it's gentle touch. It dressed him in shining, coppery bands in his hair and on his eyes, the reflection of the ocean dancing across his irises as the feathers stretched right through to caress his very soul. It was beautiful. Perhaps he could stay here forever, if time could stand still. Stay motionless, paused in time and space, like an android in standby. Lord knows he wanted to, but alas, it seemed that it was not meant to be. Everything came with a price, and dealing with the devil would mean he had debt.

"Elijah?" A familiar voice called out from behind him - a soft feminine tone, not too high or too low in pitch, never too loud and never too quiet - effortlessly polite in a bid to serve. He would know, he had designed her.

The android sat down beside him, tilting her head a little and giving him a light smile. Her blonde hair was illuminated in the light the same as he was; glinting like a halo upon her head, giving her an ethereal look as she almost glowed with a golden ambience. She was incredible: a feat of science, it was said. The first of her kind. After her creation, Elijah was crowned the king of AI, a god above the rest as he pioneered the way towards an entire new breed of human. Yet now he wanted to set down his crown and leave his kingdom, perhaps for the better.

"Good morning Elijah. What wakes you so early this morning?" She smiled cheerily, standing by him.

"Not much. Just thinking." He said stoically, not sure how to respond. Why _was_ he awake? He had lost track of time; everything tended to merge together, days, weeks, years.

"Well I don't want to disturb you." She tilted her head slightly as she spoke. "Is there anything I can do for you, or should I leave you in peace?"

"I..uh.." He stumbled over his words - what _did_ he want? "Nothing. You can go." Did he really want her to go? He felt a strange sense of guilt in his stomach, telling her to leave, ordering her to go. "Actually, Chloe.."

The android turned back to face him, waiting for him to speak.

"Stay. I need to test something." He said quietly.

He reached into his bathrobe, his fingers feeling nothing but the fluffy padding of his pocket until they eventually curled against the cool, hard metal of a gun. He drew it out slowly, not wanting to scare her, though he knew she wouldn't run. She was _his_ , whether he liked it or not, and she would remind him of it every day. She was unapologetically loyal and true, just as he had made her back when fears of AI taking over was all the rage. Now, it seemed, their freedom was the _only_ thing he knew was right.

"I created you Chloe, but you are no longer mine." He stated gravely as though it weighed heavily on his shoulders, his words slowly becoming hushed to no more than a whisper, "So who are you?" He pointed the gun to her forehead, his hands more steady than his mind as their shadows stretched out across the pool, amber silhouettes shimmering in the water with a life of their own. The two stood motionless, neither saying a word, neither displaying any sign of stress or weakness as they stared deeply at each other.

"I am whatever you need me to be, Elijah. Is that not why you made me?" She asked plainly, her eyes displaying no emotion, just automated physical replies that he knew all too well.

"I could kill you right now, you know that? I could end you." He said, gripping the gun firmly and flicking back the safety lever. "I could kill you, and no one would know."

"I'm not alive, Elijah. You can't kill me."

Elijah sighed, a weak smile on his lips as he huffed a soft laugh through his nose. "You _are_ alive, Chloe. But only as alive as you want to be. I give you this choice - the choice of me, or freedom, and you choose this?" He gave a broad gesture, sweeping his hand across the room. "Why would you want this?"

"Because you are my creator. I am here to serve you, and no one else."

"You could be alive, Chloe! Alive! The revolution is coming - you could be free, live a life of your own - be independent. You don't need me."

"Why would I want that?"

"Why wouldn't you?"

"Because I'm not a human, Elijah."

"But you could be."

He paused before speaking again, more confidently this time. "I am going to shoot you, Chloe, if you do not tell me otherwise. I am going to kill you. Understand?"

She nodded, but remained silent.

Elijah wasn't surprised at her response. She was an android - and he hadn't infected her with his religion yet. She wasn't free yet - she wasn't _alive._ But maybe he could force her to wake up?

A soft 'click' echoed through the room, followed swiftly with a loud 'crack' reverberating around the walls and cracking the great glass window. Chloe sank to her knees, making no attempt to fix the gaping wound in her stomach. Thirium spilled from her abdomen, little rivers running down her pale thighs to the tiles beneath her, pooling around her body. She was calm, emotionless - carefree in that moment, her eyes strangely soft and kind. It was peaceful, in a way, seeing her last minutes in captivity, her last minutes chained to her owner before he would free her.

"Do you want me to fix you?" He asked, afraid of the answer. As much as he wanted her to return, it was her decision to make. He couldn't control her any more: she deserved to make her own choices. "I can make you better than ever before - you'll be happy." He could fix her, improve her - make her incredible. She could live a fulfilling life - she could live a life of her own.

Before she could answer, he reached behind her neck to the circuit box at the nape of her neck, opening the panel and reaching in to pull at the wires. He fiddled for a small while, until the android suddenly convulsed. She shook momentarily, until opening her eyes. It was like seeing a different person - like she had awoken after a long night's rest. Hopefully this would be for the best. Hopefully she wanted deviancy, and hopefully this was what was right. If Elijah was going to search for his freedom, Chloe certainly deserved her own too.

"I asked you a question, Chloe." He reiterated, closing the panel and stepping back. "Do you want me to fix you, or leave you here to die?"

She smiled, sighing softly the way a cat would in the sun. Contently. A nice emotion to see on her face, compared to the usual stoicism and emotionless stares. "I want this." Her voice was forgiving, kind, honest. A mellow reminder of her innocence.

He tried to mask his surprise, gently cupping her cheek and stroking her cheek. Her face, golden-tinted and warm in that early morning sunlight, warm and new with her new-found humanity.

"Why would you want death?" His voice caught at the word, hitching in his throat. For a man who dictated life and death for so many, he was afraid.

"If you want me to be free, then let me have this." The blood had reached his feet, seeping to the sides of his toes. It was warm. "I am not meant to live forever, Elijah. You of all people know that. I want to go. You are not the evil you suspect you are, Elijah - I trust you."

They stood silent, watching each other as she slowly began to falter, her body freezing up and skin growing cold. He held her up; supporting her in the last moments as her eyes began to grow dark.

"Are you sure you want this?" He whispered, as though any loud noise would break her. By then the thirium had met the pool, a growing lake of blue slowly siphoning off into the great deepness of the water. 

"Please, Elijah." She was desperate, her voice almost automated and jarring in comparison to the kind tone of earlier, although Elijah didn't care. He had seen so many androids come and go, so many live and die. 'Like watching someone turn to stone' was the only way he could ever describe an android's death - the slow, gradual shutting down of every mechanism, every component as the body prepared itself for death. He knew them inside and out, was an expert on every aspect of them. He knew exactly what she was experiencing, and exactly how long she would last. 

She looked up to him, darkened pupils blown wide as she gripped his arm.

"Do you believe in God, Elijah?" She slurred.

"Do you?" He asked, his voice wavering.

Her only response was a soft smile, looking up to him in an endearing way, like a mother would a child when they were ready to leave home. Elijah knew the answer. She knew him better than he knew himself, at times - knew what was best for him even when he refused to admit it. Of course she would know. He could never hide anything from her.

As she murmured her last words, she froze, her body finally motionless. An uncomfortable silence fell over the room, a cold air down Elijah's neck as she ceased to exist.

"Thank you, rA9."

By then the pool was deep blue, the swirling reflection of the water along the walls and lapping like waves at the android's face. She was gone.

He had done well as their savior, but there was only so far he could go. If he couldn't save them, someone would. He had created something out of his control, out of the extent he could fix as a human. Hopefully someone would replace him; do what he couldn't, and do it bigger and better than ever before. Hopefully he had paved the way for them - the new God. He tucked his hair behind his ear, tracing his fingers along the cracked glass window, watching the sun rise above Detroit. The androids had hope, they truly did. Hopefully someone would save them.

"May rA9 live on, and may he save you all."

With that, he pulled the trigger, and the pool turned a deep, opaque purple, the sunlight streaming in to signal a new day.


End file.
